Official Expert Answer
Congratulations — and good instinct to check before signing. Key points in a German Assistenzarzt contract:
• Tarif: is your pay based on a collective agreement (TV-Ärzte) and which level/step? Avoid vague “individual” salaries below tarif.
• Weiterbildung: does the department have the Weiterbildungsermächtigung for your specialty, and for how many years? This decides whether your training counts.
• Contract type: permanent or befristet (limited)? Length of probation (Probezeit)? Notice periods?
• Duties and hours: regular hours, Bereitschaftsdienst/on-call and how it is paid, overtime rules.
• With a Berufserlaubnis: check any conditions (supervision, clinic-bound).
If anything is unclear, ask HR in writing or have the Marburger Bund (doctors’ union) review it. A good employer won’t mind questions.
• Tarif: is your pay based on a collective agreement (TV-Ärzte) and which level/step? Avoid vague “individual” salaries below tarif.
• Weiterbildung: does the department have the Weiterbildungsermächtigung for your specialty, and for how many years? This decides whether your training counts.
• Contract type: permanent or befristet (limited)? Length of probation (Probezeit)? Notice periods?
• Duties and hours: regular hours, Bereitschaftsdienst/on-call and how it is paid, overtime rules.
• With a Berufserlaubnis: check any conditions (supervision, clinic-bound).
If anything is unclear, ask HR in writing or have the Marburger Bund (doctors’ union) review it. A good employer won’t mind questions.